Blocked out

GSN kicks off its annual holiday run of What's My Line and I've Got a Secret next Monday. The first WML ep dates from almost sixty years ago, February 8, 1953. Your humble blogger was one year old at the time, and What's My Line panelist Hal Block got fired after the episode.

Block would actually appear on three more episodes, but his fate was sealed. He was just too crude for the show, as this attack on Miss America demonstrated. (Note John Daly's sour face after Block's shenanigans.) Back then Block's unwanted attentions to the young lady were semi-acceptable. Nowadays he'd get a sexual harassment suit, and he might get slugged.

Block was replaced by the far smoother and more debonair Steve Allen. He was hardly ever mentioned on the show after his departure, and he has mostly slipped down the memory hole. But What's My Line used his services for a couple years as the show struggled to establish itself. Once WML found its feet, Mark Goodson felt secure enough to serve Block his walking papers. Gil Fates did the deed, and Block did not accept the firing graciously.

Hal Block died on June 16, 1981 at age 67. Wikipedia offers an extensive biography.